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[[File:Silmarillion, Just under the Cover.jpg|thumb|right|Title page of ''The Silmarillion''.]]
'''''The Silmarillion''''' is a book written by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]. It was first published [[posthumous]]ly (after Tolkien was dead) in [[1977]], edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. ''The Silmarillion'' is set in Tolkien's world [[Middle-earth]], and is about its early history before ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. 

The name "Silmarillion" can mean the published book (as in ''The Silmarillion''), but it can also mean all the stories from the First Age of Middle-earth (the ''Quenta Silmarillion'').

== Overview ==
The published ''The Silmarillion'' has five parts:
# The ''Ainulindalë'' tells how Eru Ilúvatar ([[God]]) created the Ainur and the universe (called ''Eä''). It talks about a character named Melkor who is [[Jealousy|jealous]] of Eru Ilúvatar’s power and wants to [[Singing|sing]] differently from the rest of the Ainur.
# The ''Valaquenta'' tells of the Ainur who came into the world, where they were known as Valar and Maiar. Melkor starts destroying everything the other Valar make. If they make a [[valley]], he raises it up again.
# The ''Quenta Silmarillion'' tells the stories of the First Age of Middle-earth. It is about the wars of the Elves and Men against the Dark Lord [[Morgoth]], and the fight for the [[Silmaril]] jewels. The ''Quenta Silmarillion'' is the biggest part of the book.
# The ''Akallabêth'' tells of the Downfall of [[Númenor]].
# The ''Of The Rings of Power and the Third Age'' tells the story leading up to ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

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[[Category:Books by J. R. R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:1977 books]]